Wolfpack Football Team Tops Niobrara/Verdigre

ELGIN — Knowing that the Wolfpack had more team speed than Niobrara-Verdigre, EPPJ Coach Randy Eisenhauer “put the pedal to the metal” Friday night to make quick work of the Cougars.
Scoring almost every time they had the ball in the first half, the Wolfpack rolled to a 56 to 14 victory over the Cougars.
Eisenhauer said the Cougars tried to play a five-man front on defense to stop the Wolfpack. To attack the defense, he said the plan was to run outside and the Wolfpack did just that.
“All week we said, with this team (N/V), you need to come out right away. I wanted to see us drive block and I wanted to see us take care of business in the first half and we did,” Coach Randy Eisenhauer said about the victory.
On the team’s second play from scrimmage, senior running back Andrew Fangman went 48 yards for the team’s first touchdown. It would be just the first of six touchdowns Fangman would score on the night as the Cougars had no answer for the Wolfpack’s offensive scheme.
Yet, Niobrara-Verdigre tied the score on the ensuing kickoff when Greg Rudloff returned the pigskin 79 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion tied the score at 8-all with 11:04 remaining in the first quarter.
The Cougars wouldn’t score for the rest of the first half as time and time again the Wolfpack defense shut down Rudloff & Co.
The Wolfpack lit the scoreboard on their second possession. A 39-yard run by Fangman set up the Wolfpack on the Cougars’ five-yard line. On the next play, junior Chad Bode found the endzone for the first of his two touchdowns on the night.
EPPJ’s third touchdown of the night came when quarterback Seth Schumacher pitched the ball to Fangman who took it 30 yards for a touchdown.
Linebacker Kyle Kallhoff knocked down a Cougars’ pass to force a punt on their ensuing possession.

For the complete story, see the print edition of The Elgin Review